


so natural to be near

by badskeletonpuns



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Cockpit Sharing, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Other, Sharing a Bed, Various OCs - Freeform, apostolosian biology headcanons, other members of the Chime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-07-10 05:08:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15942422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badskeletonpuns/pseuds/badskeletonpuns
Summary: My FatT NBslash exchange for harpydora on Twitter! Cass and AuDy have to pretend to be dating for a mission and it all gets very real very quickly. Featuring big feelings, mutual REQUITED pining, and lots of fake kisses that both people involved wish were not fake.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [harpydora](https://archiveofourown.org/users/harpydora/gifts).



“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Cass asks. They can’t help nervously rubbing the sides of their neck, their own bioelectricity thrumming through their ampullae. It feels too much like microphone feedback under their skin to be truly comforting, but the familiarity of the motion is something they need here.

AuDy inclines their head slightly, as they’ve done the past seven times Cass has asked. “Do not worry about me,” they answer, and reach to take Cass’s hand from their neck. They pause before connecting. “May I take your hand?”

“I—yeah,” Cass says. They drop their hand away from their frills before they start tugging on them in earnest to hold AuDy’s hand. “Good idea,” they continue, tumbling over their own words like they haven’t done since they were fresh to the field and more than a little starstruck by Koda. “People will definitely expect us to hold hands, and we can’t act like it’s weird.”

The two of them are walking through a marketplace on a tiny planet, so deep in the backwaters of the galaxy that Divines were bedtime stories and empires rose and fell with little fanfare or effect on the lives of those here.

It was the safest place anyone could think of for Cass and AuDy to practice ‘dating’ without a danger they’d run into anyone they knew.

AuDy hums before responding, a low, gentle sound. “And you could have damaged your ampullae.”

Cass almost reaches up with their free hand to tug on the frills there again, stopped only by AuDy squeezing their other hand. “They’ll heal,” Cass gets out, covering for the abrupt motion by fiddling with a stray thread on their shirt.

“Still,” AuDy says, “You should not get hurt.”

The planet’s two suns are bright on Cass’s skin, disguising their glowing blush that they are all too aware of. “That’s a good idea,” they get out. AuDy’s hand is cool, far enough from their core that the whirring tech that keeps them running doesn’t heat the metal to the same warmth as their torso. Their grip is firm, careful. Safe.

Cass is blushing brightly enough that it  _ must  _ be visible, even in the late afternoon light.

Thankfully, AuDy doesn’t comment. They lead Cass through the marketplace, ducking in and out of corridors and alleyways until they stop in front of a stand billing itself as the one-stop shop for everyone’s bead needs. The only person in it is running the place, an Aandarisk with blue-green feathers organizing bead trays and humming to hirself tunelessly.

Upon seeing Cass and AuDy, ze straightens up and claps hir hands together. “Hello there! What can I do for you two?”

AuDy speaks up before Cass can. “I would like to buy a set of hair beads for my…” They hesitate, turning back to Cass.

_ Shit _ , Cass realizes. Neither one of them had thought to figure out exactly what they were pretending to be for this mission, besides ‘dating.’ “Partner,” they settle on, and smile at AuDy as adoringly as they can. They’re distracted enough by the upkeep of the lie that what AuDy asked for doesn’t quite sink in until the Aandarisk has led the two of them over to a rotating display carrying sets of beads for braiding that range from cheaply dyed plastic to what looks like genuine coral.

“AuDy,” they manage to murmur. “You don’t have to do this, it’s—it’s too expensive.” The two of them have spent enough time together, there’s no way that AuDy doesn’t know the significance of this. They’ve seen Cass put their hair into simple battle braids hundreds of times, and definitely have heard Cass complain about having to put it into fancier updos when the Chime know that they’re going to need to look a little nicer.

(They don’t really mean the complaining, but it’s as much a part of getting ready for them as doing the actual braids are at this point. It serves a double purpose as a distraction from how they should have family or a partner with them at this point to help with the more complex styles, but Cass doesn’t like to remind themself of that part of it.)

“You act like I am going to buy the most expensive set in the store,” AuDy says, and Cass can feel the teasing grin in their words as easily as if they’d had a face to show it. “I want to do this.” After a beat, they add more quietly, “You would do this in any other relationship, wouldn’t you?”

Cass pauses. They’re right and Cass knows it, and they know that Cass knows it. Still, there’s something they aren’t saying. Cass can’t really object any further with this stranger close enough to hear them, so they settle for nodding and stepping closer to AuDy. They’ll have to pay them back after the mission, or maybe this shop will take returns?

The seller clears hir throat and fluffs out hir feathers. “If I may, my friends, I do have several sets of beads perfect for newly-formed couples.” Ze spins the display to reveal more styles, pointing out the ones ze’s referring to as ze does so.

“There’s the meechwood ones, those are from my homeworld and are said to be great charms for honest partners and good communication when woven into your feathers. The shiny set over here is metal suspended in glass, a little fragile but a great stand-out piece if you want to show off your partner’s beauty with something  _ almost _ as handsome as they are.” Ze winks at AuDy and Cass and laughs. “And of course, I have to recommend the red jasper: the beads are carved into fertility symbols from cultures all over, from the Apostolosian empire to Diasporan and OriCon icons, to old Earth culture and to planets I bet you’ve never even heard of.”

“Of course, you  _ have _ to,” Cass mutters.

“I think we will just stick to the regular bead sets,” AuDy decides.

“Your loss!” The seller shrugs. “Let me know when you two angelfish decide on a set. Just shout out for Tristik and I’ll be here to help.” Ze trots over to another group of customers just entering the shop and introduces hirself with a sweeping bow.

AuDy nudges Cass slightly. “Is there one you like the most?”

Cass can’t keep blushing like a guppy on their first date, especially now that they’re out of the direct sunlight and the glow will be much more obvious. It’s just… It’s not  _ their _ fault that AuDy is maybe not the royal spouse every young heir was supposed to dream of, but they are increasingly who Cass has been dreaming of.

And to have AuDy here, with them, buying them beads like they might if this was real and not all for a mission…

No one could blame Cass for being a little flustered.

They take a deep breath, resisting the urge to fiddle with their ampullae again. The mission, they remind themself, the plan.  _ I love it when a plan comes together, after all. _ “Those ones are nice,” they say, pointing to the first set on the lowest-priced rack.

The beads are tacky enough that Cass has to hold back a wince, cheap twine with fake shells tied onto them, spaced seemingly randomly.

Cass gets the distinct sense that AuDy would be raising their eyebrows if they had any.

“… Those beads.”

Cass stiffens, committing now to their choice. Besides, the actually nice ones were way too expensive for one mission, even if it was a deep undercover one. “Yeah, what of it?”

“The ones with the shells made of plastic that will catch on your hair and the string with pieces  _ already _ coming loose that are going to dangle and make your scales itch.” AuDy spins the rack again, coming to a stop on one of the sides they had originally been looking at.

Before even looking at the options on this rack, Cass shakes their head. “No, AuDy, these are your own creds! I can’t—you should use your money on stuff we actually need, like ship repairs or supplies or something.”

“Exactly,” AuDy says. “These are my own creds, and in order to make us appear credible, I want to buy you a set of these beads that will not make you miserable to wear.”

There’s a little voice inside Cass that says they should absolutely keep being stubborn about the cheap bead set. While AuDy is right that they should have a set of partner-given beads, they do  _ not  _ have to be a nice set and what if Cass really does like the cheap set, after all? …Cass realizes that the voice sounds suspiciously like Mako justifying buying a whole bunch of robots.

AuDy waits patiently for Cass to come to their conclusion, calmly holding their hand.

“I really like the ones with a few of the coral beads on them,” Cass admits. There are a few sets at a reasonable price point, with opalized shells or clusters of preserved barnacles or twisting coral focus pieces that will tuck into the center point of braids or buns.

AuDy nods and waves the attendant back over. “These ones, please,” they request, pointing at a set that includes a branching coral comb and slim cords with polished shards of shell that Cass could wear even into battle, if they were careful.

“Want me to wrap them up or do you two want a few moments alone to fancy yourselves up?” Ze grins at AuDy and Cass, a gesture ze must have picked up from humans. The sight of hundreds of sharp Aandarisk teeth isn’t entirely a reassuring one.

“If you could wrap them, that would be great,” Cass says. If AuDy does their hair, they might combust on the spot.

By the time they get the hair jewelry, carefully put into a velvet gift case and wrapped in a heavy brown paper, one of the suns has set and the other is spilling a wine-red sunset across the horizon. In the evening light, AuDy’s chassis looks almost gilded. It kind of hurts to look at them, and Cass isn’t sure if it’s because of how bright the reflected light is or how happy they are to be here with AuDy.

Cass is carrying the jewelry box on one arm, their other linked with AuDy’s. They keep stealing looks at them, unable to tell if AuDy is looking back.

They realize that they kind of hope they are.

The two of them are walking back through a food-focused section of the market when AuDy pulls them off into a gap between two storefronts. “Cass,” they begin, and then pause. “Are you having a good time?”

It doesn’t feel like what they really want to say.

Regardless of that, Cass is left off-balance from being pulled over and they automatically steady themself on AuDy. “Careful,” they say without thinking about it, and then they look up. AuDy is closer than they expected, and they’re so warm under Cass’s palms, and they hold on a little bit tighter.

“My buds!”

_ Oh, no _ , Cass thinks.

“Oh, no,” AuDy says. They aren’t even trying to be quiet about it.

That’s fine, because Lazer Ted doesn’t seem to notice. He ambles over from a kabob tent and gives them a wave. He makes for quite the picture in the middle of a backwater town with his rainbow-neon striped hair in a messy ponytail and the glowing jewelry and the ever-present drone tagging along behind him. “How’ve you been, it feels like it’s been ages since you’ve been in my neck of the galaxy! You all keepin’ it wavy?”

Cass steps away to a completely normal platonic distance from AuDy. Not too quickly, or that would be suspicious.

They find that they don’t want to let go of AuDy’s hand.

“We’ve been doing fine, just getting ready for a new job,” Cass answers, keeping it as vague as possible.

Lazer Ted nods, and his drone nods with him, bobbing up and down in the air. “Just you and AuDy, huh,” he says, and there’s a quirk to his grin that Cass does not like in the least. “You two finally get your shit together?”

“What?” Out of everything Lazer Ted, of all people, could have said, that was probably one of the things Cass had least expected.

He just nods, like that solves any of Cass’s around fourteen, fifteen immediate concerns. “You know, the whole thing! With the being understanding of each other and patient and looking out for each other and all that. Now to be fair,” Lazer Ted continues with what is an insulting amount of magnanimousness, “most of your group kind of has something like that going. My boy Mako picked a good bunch of friends.”

“Yes,” AuDy pipes up. They’re drumming their fingers on their own leg, tapping metal-on-metal in a quick rhythm. It’s the only indication of how much they probably want to bodily pick Lazer Ted up and move him elsewhere. “The Chime are good friends.”

They don’t say ‘and you are not a part of the Chime, and we are involved in a job with the Chime and not you right now,’ but Cass hears it plain as an Eidolon speaking from the sea.  

“And you two are a little more, I get it,” Lazer Ted says, absolutely not getting it. “That’s the way it goes sometimes, I feel you. Should I leave you two new sweethearts alone for a bit, let you have your dinner date in peace?” He turns to take in the market behind him—it’s still fairly busy, even for the evening—and takes in a deep breath of the sizzling spices and frying foods. “Great place for a date, I gotta say. Good job to whoever picked it out.”

“You definitely, definitely should,” AuDy says, and they take Cass’s hand again and squeeze it.

And hey, Cass can play along. This just means the mission is working well, right? Cass and AuDy make a convincing couple.

If it’s a little too easy to smile adoringly at AuDy’s primary camera and pull them closer, well… No one needs know that part of it. They glance back at Lazer Ted and school their face into nervousness. “But you can’t tell anyone, okay? We…” Cass scrounges for a reason that Lazer Ted can’t announce to the galaxy that Cass and AuDy are on a dinner date.

AuDy covers for them, holding their free hand to their faceplate as if making a shushing motion. “We have not told the rest of the crew yet,” they lie.

Cass can pick it up from there. “Like you said, Mako and Aria and the rest of us are really good friends. We’re afraid that if they hear about us dating, it could, um, mess with the dynamic of the group.”

“Oh, fuck, it’s like a forbidden love story, like Mercutio and Benvolio, damn,” Lazer Ted says. “I love those old classics, have you ever seen them?” He shakes his head. “Not important right now. Don’t worry your wavy heads, my friends, I’ll keep your little rendezvous to myself.” He mirrors AuDy’s shushing gesture.

“Thank you so much,” Cass says, and they’re honestly pretty genuine. Hopefully he’ll keep the secret as well as he says he will. “Now,” they hedge, “if you don’t mind…” They trail off and step a little closer to AuDy, trying to ignore the way the energy in AuDy’s body makes their scales buzz even without salt water to act as a conductor.

Lazer Ted takes the hint, grinning and backing off. “Oh, of course, I’ll let you have your alone time.” The amount of eyebrow waggling going on is definitely illegal. “See you guys around!” He melts back into the crowd with surprising ease, pulling a hood over his head and directing his drone closer to the ground until it looks like nothing more than any robotic pet on the street.

“Well,” AuDy says, and their voice crackles with the static of a sigh. “That is going to be all over the Mesh in a few days.”

“Maybe he’ll keep it quiet for a while,” Cass protests, but they don’t even believe themself. They trust Lazer Ted only as far as Mako trusts him—which is to say, he’s great at messing with systems on the Mesh and finding affordable (and insane) body jewelry and tech, but not so great at keeping secrets, whether they’re personal or professional ones.

Maybe they’re being too mean. Cass sighs, and almost unconsciously leans further in to AuDy. It’s not fair of them, they know this is only for a mission, AuDy doesn’t owe them anything.

But AuDy slips their arm around Cass’s waist anyway and lets them lean on them. They tip their head to one side, carefully pressing their forehead to Cass’s.

It’s nearly a kiss, and Cass’s heart just about jumps out of their body.

Apotine above, they have no idea how they’re going to make it through the rest of this mission.

 

* * *

 

AuDy is not pacing. They perch (as much as a solidly-built robot could perch) on the side of the Megalophile’s single cockpit chair, very pointedly _not_ _pacing_.

Besides, it’s not like there’s room to pace.

Cass is piloting as best they can, but the Megalophile is really only meant for a single pilot. They don’t mind AuDy being near to them—quite the opposite—but there’s a time and a place. And the time really wasn’t ‘on the way to pretend to be dating in front of a bunch of shitty scamming businessfolk,’ just like the place wasn’t ‘crammed into a cockpit that was never supposed to hold more than one person.’

“I am going to check on our hotel rooms,” AuDy announces, and Cass nods without looking away from the stars that stretch out in front of their mech. It’s not a difficult flight to make, but they’re afraid if they look up at AuDy anytime soon that they won’t be able to look away. In the corner of their vision, AuDy removes a datapad hooked into the Megalophile’s wall.

It’s hard to strike the memory of their ‘date’ in that market from their mind. The way the setting sun had gleamed off of AuDy had been unreal. Cass wants to sigh a little thinking about it.

They shake their head slightly, trying to clear their mind. Apotine, when did they become such a sap?

Next to them, AuDy hums something like a sigh. “Our reservation has been cancelled.”

Cass sits bolt upright. “What?”

“It is one of the people we’re meeting,” AuDy continues, reading off of the datapad. “Irene Scarlett. ‘Welcome to the party, Cassy!’”

Cass winces.

“‘I took the liberty of upgrading you and your plus one, winking face, to one of my favorite hotels. No associates of the Epitome should stay in anything less than the best! You’ll have to tell me all about your stay when we meet tomorrow! Winking face.’” AuDy puts the datapad back into the wall with slightly more force than is necessary. “I do not want to meet her.”

“Yeah, me neither,” Cass agrees. “At least we got better rooms out of it?”

“Room.”

The word doesn’t quite hit Cass for a minute. But the more they thought about it, the more sense it made. The group had no reason to believe that they and AuDy would need separate rooms, after all. And if you were upgrading someone and their partner to an undoubtedly hellishly expensive hotel, you probably wouldn’t want to spring for two rooms even if they  _ weren’t _ dating.

Still, Cass sighs. “Of course she booked one room. Odds that there are fake rose petals on the bedspreads?”

“I think I would lose that bet.”

Turns out that there are  _ real  _ rose petals on the bedspread, singular.

The two of them don’t talk about the single bed until they’ve unpacked their stuff and begun to settle in. There are a few extra suitcases to unpack for both Cass and AuDy. Playing at the spoiled Apostolosian heir and their love of the week requires a more elaborate wardrobe than usual.

Cass is sorting through abalone jewelry on a desk and about to make an excuse to sleep on the room’s loveseat when AuDy steps up behind them. They’re close enough that if Cass breathed deeply, their back would touch AuDy’s chest. “I have done a cursory scan for bugs,” AuDy murmurs, and they are so goddamn close that Cass almost doesn’t hear a word they say. “We cannot speak freely here.”

With that, it sinks in. They have to be  _ on _ in this room, they still have to be Cass-and-AuDy the happy couple, they can’t make any of the excuses they were just about to make to not sleep on that bed next to AuDy.

“Video and audio?” Cass whispers, barely moving their lips.

AuDy nods behind them, and tips their head far enough to press the lower portion of their face against Cass’s neck. It disguises the motion, turns it into a kiss instead of communication.

AuDy’s face is hot, far hotter than Cass would have dreamed.

Or maybe that’s just the electricity keeping AuDy running, close enough to the bioelectricity Cass’s ampullae are designed to sense to set them off big time. It shivers and sparks on their scales, and they tip their head to one side almost unconsciously.

“It’s late,” Cass gets out, and fiercely pretends that their voice is much less breathy than it actually is. “We can… We should go to bed.” They turn to face AuDy and let their arms settle around AuDy’s waist, tuck their face into the crook between AuDy’s neck and shoulder. It’s for the bugs, they tell themself. If they speak quietly and keep their head still, no one could see their mouth move or hear them.

It would look like any embrace.

“We can head out to the Megalophile tomorrow and contact Mako, he should be able to disable the bugs without letting the Epitome know that  _ we _ know about them,” Cass mutters. “You good to keep pretending for the rest of the night?”

AuDy pulls away just far enough that Cass can see their primary camera and slides their arms around Cass’s waist. “I am great,” they promise, and lean down to touch their forehead to Cass’s.

Cass closes their eyes and pretends the gesture has as much meaning to AuDy as it does to them.

The bed is more than large enough that they can both lie down without touching each other. That should be a plus, but Cass can’t be that happy about lacking an excuse to keep being near AuDy. “Are you going to sleep?” they ask AuDy, keeping their voice low even though it’s a perfectly innocent question.

AuDy hums a little. “I am going to hibernate for the night. There is nothing more I can do from here to help the mission.”

“I’m sorry,” Cass sighs, and rolls over so that they can hide their face and drop their voice even lower. “If we could have thought of any other way to have two of us on this mission, you wouldn’t have to do this. But Mako needed to be able to sneak around and Aria’s too openly against shit like this, and a bratty royal low on cash was the perfect character to join the Epitome. I just...” They trail off, uncertain how to state their thoughts.

They wish AuDy didn’t have to be here, but they aren’t certain they’d trust anyone except them to be here. They want them to be near, but also to stay safe. They want a lot of things that they aren’t willing to admit, even to themself.

“Do not worry.” AuDy reaches out in the dark, presses two fingers to the corner of Cass’s mouth. “We will be fine.”

Cass’s heart skips a beat, and they know they’re blushing. The glow lights up the two of them, the same pale purple as the hyacinths that grew wild on Apostolosian beaches. It’s not smart, it’s not wise, but Cass puts their own hand up. They hold AuDy’s hand against their face for a long, silent moment. The metal is barely cooler than they are, and by the time they let go it’s warmed to their body temperature.

“Thank you,” Cass whispers, and they aren’t sure what for.

They fall asleep listening to the quiet hum of AuDy’s low-power mode and watching the moon’s reflection rise across their faceplate.

It’s the best sleep they’ve had in a long time.


	2. Chapter 2

Cass wakes up slowly, the way they haven’t in years.

AuDy lies on the bed next to them. They’re emitting a steady mechanical hum and are immobile in a way they rarely are when awake, and they’re still under the comforter on the bed. There’s no real need for them to sleep or to be in the bed at all, but Cass can’t say they mind their presence.

They prop themself up on one elbow and stretch slowly. The air is fresher than the recycled oxygen of the Kingdom Come, and it’s almost second nature to shimmy out of their sleep top and flare out their gills to take in more of it.

AuDy’s still asleep after all, or as close to it as they ever get. And even if they aren’t, everyone in the Chime had seen far more of everyone else in the Chime than they wanted to after having worked together for this long. It was an occupational hazard.

So it’s fine, Cass can take this moment to breathe as deeply as they can without actual water flushing their gills.

They glance back at AuDy, still motionless on the bed beside them.

The lights are off, and there’s the pale blush of sunrise coming through the gauzy curtains. It’s pinker than most planets’ suns, but maybe that’s just the curtains coloring the light to be more ‘romantic.’ Cass wouldn’t be surprised.

Curtains or no curtains, the light that gets through glances off of the dents and scrapes on AuDy’s surface like shooting stars across a burnished sky.

Cass would give every cred in the universe to lie back down and curl into AuDy’s side, to kiss their neck and have it  _ matter _ to them even though they couldn’t feel it, to let them run their hands down Cass’s sides and hold them close.

But there’s a mission.

There are bugs to deal with, backup to call, and meetings to plan.

They don’t have time to pine.

For the sake of the mission, Cass tells themself, they reach out to touch the back of AuDy’s hand. “Good morning, sunshine,” they murmur, and they mean to be teasing but their voice breaks into something far more tender than they’d like to admit. “I’m going to get ready and call someone about that pest problem we had at home, okay?”

AuDy comes online again with a light that blinks on for only a few moments before turning itself off again, accompanied by a whirr that almost grinds for a fraction of a second. They nod without getting up, and turn their hand so that they’re palm to palm with Cass. “I will ready our things for the meeting.”

It’s nearly a dance, the way they work around each other in the small room.

Neither of them feel the need to turn on the lights, and instead AuDy pushes themself up and out of bed to slide the curtains fully open. The sun really is pink here, the kind of color that you think doesn’t really exist outside of romcoms and anime until you see it yourself.

While they do that, Cass pulls their hair out of its simple plait, readying it for the more elaborate style the businesspeople would undoubtedly expect from ‘Cassy.’ AuDy has the jewelry they bought Cass out before Cass even asks for it, laying it on the desktop while putting a few other pieces of gear into a bag for the day ahead.

Cass buttons themself into a frankly ridiculous overcoat on top of a more reasonable shirt and skirt. The garment is heavy with cheap embroidery and fake pearls, and they feel like more of a pompous asshole the moment they put it on. It’s the kind of thing tabloids would love to see disgraced heirs in, an easy way to poke fun at spoiled royalty. They can’t stop pulling at the collar; it’s high enough to rub its harshly dyed polyester backing against their ampullae and stiff enough that they keep feeling like they can’t tilt their neck at all.

It also itches like hell.

AuDy has a matching jacket in a cropped version of the same design, which makes Cass’s outfit almost worth it.

“May I help?” AuDy offers, and Cass starts.

“Sorry, AuDy, I meant to call and I got distracted—”

“I know,” AuDy says, cutting them off. “The coats we are wearing are not great.”

Cass snorts. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.” They tug at the shoulders of the coat, trying in vain to pull it further away from the sensitive frills and scales on their neck.

“I think I can help,” AuDy offers again, and they lift their hands. “May I touch your neck?”

There’s no reason for Cass to hesitate in the part that they’re playing. If they really were with AuDy, they wouldn’t have a second thought about allowing AuDy to relieve the irritation of the coat with careful hands.

Cass tips their head back. “Yeah,” they say, and have to swallow before they can get anything else out. “That sounds great.”

It  _ is _ great, dangerously so. AuDy slides their hands between the scratchy fabric and Cass’s ampullae, presses the cool metal of their fingers between their fins. It sends electricity shivering along their neck, a sort of white noise that blocks out the itch immediately. The abrupt chill combined with the biological static has them sighing and tilting their head to bare as much of their throat as possible to AuDy, before they even realize they’re doing it.

“I take it this helps,” AuDy remarks, and technically their voice sounds the same as always. In spite of that, they sound smug enough that Cass almost wants to pull away and make a face at them.

Not quite, though. The feeling of AuDy’s hands on their neck to ward off the uncomfortable sensation of the coat is enough of a relief that Cass would put up with any amount of smugness.

The two of them stand still for longer than they should. AuDy must be regulating their own temperature somehow, because their hands don’t ever seem to heat up to match Cass’s neck.

There’s so much to do and Cass can’t bring themself to think about any of it.

AuDy’s just being a good friend, just making sure their side of this lie is believable and that Cass is comfortable enough to hold up their side of it as well. Cass shouldn’t read this much into it.

They have to close their eyes when one of AuDy’s hands slips up, cups Cass’s cheek. “Are you ready to keep going?” AuDy asks.

Cass tilts their head, pushing into AuDy’s palm. Before responding, they give in to an impulse and turn to press a kiss to AuDy’s hand. “Yeah,” they say, lips still close enough to fog over the metal. “Just let me get my hair up.”

AuDy doesn’t move. Cass hopes their burst of fear that they’ve offended their friend isn’t as obvious on their face as it feels.

Then they lift their hand away from Cass’s face, but only long enough to put two fingers to Cass’s lips and it can’t be anything but a kiss. Cass beams and flushes bright enough that they can see the lavender glow they’re putting off coloring their peripheral vision. “I—I really should braid my hair,” they get out, and AuDy nods and steps back.

“I am ready whenever you are,” they say.

There’s no way they aren’t watching Cass weave their hair into a looping bun that’s a frankly ridiculous hybrid of the styles they would have done for a new relationship and an old one, the kind of thing people did on first dates with longtime crushes. Cass carefully twists the strings of jewelry AuDy bought them into each braid before pinning it up, and carefully  _ doesn’t _ think about AuDy weaving it into their hair themself.

The first meeting with the Epitome doesn’t go well, to say the least.

The plan had been working perfectly until then, which should have put Cass on guard for the universe to fuck something up for them anyway. They wanted it to keep working, though, and didn’t want to think about all the ways people could snigger at an Apostolosian dating a robot.

It could have been so easy. Cass would pretend to be the version of themself that gossip mags talked about, the Epitome would be won over by the idea of having a ‘real’ high class person on their team to make their shitty scams seem like credible business, they and AuDy would get proof of their scams and get out as fast as the Megalophile could take them.

But plans never work out as easily as they do in the diagrams.

Cass and AuDy are trapped in a hell that’s masquerading as a brunch wearing the hat of a business meeting. Cass holds the third mimosa that’s been pushed into their hand, and they’re running out of places to discreetly set the drinks down. They have their other arm linked with AuDy’s, and are seriously considering pretending to faint to get out of their current conversation.

Irene Scarlett is in a dress that matches her name, brilliantly scarlet and shimmering with a Mesh-aided holographic fuchsia undertone. She laughs loud and often at things that aren’t jokes. Her date, a handsome woman in an equally brilliant dress, keeps making fish puns that aren’t as subtle as she seems to think they are.

AuDy is holding a wine glass in their free hand and repeatedly swirling it. Someone handed it to them when they first walked in the room. (Cass isn’t sure if they were doing it as a joke or if they didn’t know that AuDy didn’t eat or drink.)

Their swirling is controlled. Tight, repetitive circles with one wrist. They’re also pinching the stem of the glass with enough force that Cass is worried it’s going to snap.

God, they really want to take a sip of their own drink.

Being drunk right now is far too risky, and they manage to make up some excuse about having to touch up their hair to Irene that lets them pull AuDy away and drop their glass on a side table on the way to the bathroom.

It’s as swanky as the rest of the event, lush paintings on every wall and low golden light fixtures styled with an old-Earth type of luxury.

There’s a mirror with fake age spots and a pre-worn frame on the wall, but Cass knows that they look fine. In lieu of their excuse, they tug AuDy into one of the stalls. “Mako promised that the bathrooms weren’t bugged,” they tell them.

AuDy’s speakers crackle with static, like a sigh breaking up over a bad Mesh connection. “Finally. How long can we stay in here?”

Cass shrugs. Their shoulders brush against AuDy’s. The stall was decidedly not built to contain two people. They chew on their lower lip while thinking of something to hide their complete and utter lack of desire to be at this event. “I bet if I look flustered when we come out again, we can probably play it off like we ran off to be alone together?”

“That make sense,” AuDy agrees. “If I mess up part of your braid, it will make you look more flustered.”

The stall seems much smaller suddenly, and the air more difficult to breathe.

Cass doesn’t know what the fuck they’re thinking when they nod in agreement, but AuDy is running their hand along the fins that line the edges of their ears and they might die if AuDy takes their hand away.

The door to the bathroom slams open, and AuDy pauses. Cass breathes out raggedly and tries not to lean their face into AuDy’s hand.

“Yeah, did you see that fish prince apparently joining the group now?” The person talking sounds like they’re on the edge of bursting into laughter. “Wanna guess what that bot with them is there for?”

Someone else snorts. There’s the clatter of something plastic falling, and they swear. “Shit, dropped my eyeshadow. I dunno, Ilse. A really tacky bodyguard?”

The original speaker giggles. “No, Irene told me it’s their fucking date, and I’m like, they didn’t think anyone was gonna see through that right to that they couldn’t even  _ pay _ a real person for a date? Asshole, I wish they weren’t royalty so we didn’t have to keep them around. ”

“I am going out there,” AuDy whispers. Cass shakes their head as violently as they can and braces themself between the two stall walls. “I am, though,” AuDy says. “Don’t worry, I will not blow our cover.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about!” Cass hisses as vehemently as they can while staying quiet.

“I will not hurt them either,” AuDy acquiesces. “But I would like to scare them.”

Cass puts one hand on AuDy’s chest, and they make no move to push them away. “No,” they mutter. “That’ll just make them feel smug about being right that I’m an asshole who’s probably paying you to be here. We should just wait for them to leave.”

The two of them are quiet, and in the background the two people in the background continue to banter and re-apply their makeup.

AuDy speaks up, barely audible. “I have another idea. But for it to work, you will have to be very dishevelled. I can help with that, if you are comfortable.”

“Anything’s better than listening to those two,” Cass grumbles.

“Are you sure?” AuDy asks. Their voice is so low, it blends with the gentle drone of their machinery. “I do not want to force you to do anything. The easiest way to dishevel you would be your gills, and I know that you are not comfortable with other people touching them without permission.”

Cass smiles; they can’t help it. “You’ve got permission, AuDy. Dishevel me. For the mission.”

“For the mission,” AuDy agrees.

They let one hand slip between Cass’s neck and the coat collar again, this time not settling still. Instead they squeeze the filaments there, just hard enough to make Cass bite back a gasp.

Their other hand is unbuttoning Cass’s coat, and Cass is only too glad to let them unbutton it far enough to get Cass out of the top half of it. The fabric pools around their hips, caught by the rest of the buttons that AuDy doesn’t undo. They are busy untucking Cass’s shirt from their skirt.

“Do not be afraid to be loud,” AuDy says, “it will help the plan.” Cass almost starts laughing.

Fuck whoever’s outside the bathroom stall or out in the main room or in this entire damn building, Cass isn’t sure there’s anyone on this planet that could keep them quiet when they were basically making out with the person they’d been pining after for so long.

Even if it didn’t mean the same thing for both of them.

AuDy rubs circles under Cass’s gill arch, thumbs at the topmost slit beneath it. Their hands are so cold and so careful, they’ve barely got their hands on Cass and Cass is already panting. AuDy lets their hand on Cass’s gills slide down further, until their thumb and fingers are on either side of the slit. They pinch down hard and it’s too much and not enough and Cass is begging AuDy to do it again in quiet, hushed pleas.

“Uh, excuse us?” Someone knocks on the stall door. “Whoever’s in there, I know you guys are like,  _ super _ into each other, but some of us have a smoky eye to perfect and don’t give a shit about your make-out time. Get a room!”

“We’ve got one,” Cass calls out, and their voice  _ doesn’t _ break when AuDy starts stroking along the outside of their gills.

AuDy picks up the conversation. “It is not our fault you came into the room.”

One of the speakers seems to be able to place their voices. “Oh, shit, it’s you two! The robot and the Apostle-Antipasta-the fish person! Ilse, fuck, what do we do?”

Ilse scoffs. “Whatever, I don’t say things behind peoples’ backs that I wouldn’t say to their face. It’s not  _ my _ fault that Mx. Fancy Heir here is dumb enough to think a robot would actually be into anyone.”

“I am going to open the door,” AuDy murmurs into Cass’s ear, and waits till they nod to withdraw their hands and do so. “Ilse,” they say, “Other person.” There’s no way Cass doesn’t have purple marks like hickies where AuDy was playing with their ampullae, their shirt is still untucked and their coat is a lost cause.

It’s a pretty fucking thorough dishevelment.

AuDy puts one arm around Cass’s waist and guides them around the two people, who are satisfyingly dumbstruck. “Cass and I are going to go back to our hotel room, and finish what you interrupted.” They don’t have a face with which to glare, but they’re tall and made of metal and those two things are more than intimidating enough to loom over both other people. “I would not appreciate being interrupted again. Stop knocking on public bathroom stalls. It’s rude.”

The two of them barely make it back to their room before Cass is collapsing into laughter. “Did you see—their  _ faces _ , they couldn’t believe anyone would talk to them like that!” They’re so out of breath that it’s a minute before they realize AuDy is laughing along. It’s been too long since they’ve heard AuDy laugh, and the static-crackle of it makes them grin from ear to ear.

There’s nothing they wouldn’t do to keep making AuDy laugh like this and that’s probably a bad sign, but here and now, Cass can’t bring themself to care.

* * *

 

Mako is able to fog the bugs in their room. Technically, Cass and AuDy don’t have to keep acting like a couple there.

But every evening the whole room is colored dusty rose from the sunset, and it’s always a bit colder than Cass would prefer, and it’s good practice to keep being together even in private, right? Holding AuDy’s hand is the smart thing to do. They need to be comfortable with each other.

When it’s time for them to turn for the night, even if AuDy doesn’t need to hibernate every night and definitely doesn’t need to be in the bed to do so, their presence will make sure Cass stays warm. And in case of an emergency, it’s safer to have the two of them near each other.

Cass comes up with a million justifications for wanting to be so close to AuDy and never says any of them aloud. AuDy doesn’t make Cass justify this, justify them. They just stay close.

No matter where they are.

They have to go grocery shopping when the Epitome seems reluctant enough to trust Cass immediately that it becomes clear that they’ll be here for a while.

AuDy somehow gets ahold of a physical map of the store, and the two of them spend the better part of an hour going in circles trying to find something that they can make in a hotel room that isn’t a prepackaged meal that expired back when the first Divine came into existence.

They find a section with something that could pass as Apostolosian food if you caught a quick glance at it in a dark corner with one eye closed. Cass grumbles at the quality of the dried snapper and amberjack, and AuDy makes vague sounds of agreement.

There’s a freezer with single-servings of various fish and pre-cooked meals that don’t look too bad, and they end up settling on a few different versions of those. AuDy even manages to find them a box of preserved loukoumades. Cass has doubts about how the dumplings will have held up in storage but AuDy sounds genuinely excited for Cass to try them. They grin helplessly at AuDy and gesture for them to add the box to their cart.

On the way to the register, Cass holds AuDy’s hand, and they don’t pull away.

Then comes another night, when Irene invites them to a high-end dinner and cancels at the last minute due to ‘contention among the planners,’ and the two of them end up piled on the overly-soft couch and finding a rerun of the Hieron anime to binge for the rest of the night. Cass has the bottle of expensive wine they were planning to bring on the end table next to them, and AuDy for some reason keeps the hat they were supposed to wear to the event balanced on their head at a jaunty angle.

The more Cass drinks the funnier the hat gets and the more they laugh the more AuDy laughs with them, until Cass is out of breath and holding themself up on AuDy’s shoulder while they try to breath.

It’s a serious moment in Hieron, people are fighting with their friends and fucking up patterns and walking away from each other. They should probably be paying attention.

Instead, Cass gets the hiccups—which are hell when you have gills—and it’s a good thing AuDy doesn’t need to breathe because apparently Cass’s hiccups are the funniest thing they’ve ever heard and they can’t stop laughing.

“Are you drunk?” Cass gets out past their hiccups.

“I cannot get drunk.” AuDy is laughing as they speak, the sounds mixing together like multiple people talking at once on a video-call.

“You sound drunk,” Cass giggles. They’re blushing bright purple and aren’t sober enough to regret it at all.

“Maybe you just think that because you are very drunk,” AuDy counters, and they’ve got Cass there. Cass just laughs along with them and leans over, tucking their face against AuDy’s neck to muffle the sound. It’s comforting.

It’s safe.

The two of them fall asleep like that, mostly-empty wine bottle and feathered hat alike having migrated to the floor (along with most of the pillows). Cass wakes up draped on top of AuDy with their hand resting on Cass’s back, and they don’t have any meetings this morning so… They can allow themself this time with AuDy.

One of them must have muted the TV at some point, and it’s not playing Hieron anymore. It might be Marielda? There’s a marble woman talking on-screen, at least.

Cass stays awake only long enough to grab a pillow for their neck, and falls back asleep in moments.

* * *

 

The meetings continue, vague planning sessions for ‘business ventures’ or ‘freelance opportunities’ giving Cass and AuDy just enough information to tempt them into staying without actually offering up any proof of misdeeds. Whenever Cass tries to get more specific information, someone or other always has one more thing they need Cass to do for them before they’re willing to tell them anything.

It’s frustrating, to say the least.

But after every meeting, Cass and AuDy get to go home. Cass can attempt to cook squid-ink pasta in the microwave and AuDy can look up ways to make good squid-ink pasta in the microwave, which Cass is pretty sure is impossible.

A meeting comes that Cass has to go to alone, and it takes the entire morning to convince AuDy to let them go and Cass is still pretty sure that they’re going to try to disguise themself and follow anyway.

They and three other members of the Epitome—Ilse, Breccia, and Mafic—are having a lunch meeting at some hipster cafe that bills itself as upper-class coffee only, but that Cass is pretty sure is just a more expensive version of Constellation Coffee that is owned and operated by the same company.

“So,” Mafic says through a mouthful of croissant. He’s mostly human, but the electric green eyes and fangs say that there’s something else in his ancestry somewhere. “You’ve been with us for a while now, Cassander.”

Cass nods and takes a sip of their coffee. “I’ve been doing all I can.”

“We’ve been really seeing great things from you,” Ilse interrupts, voice dripping with honey. “We think you might be up for one of our more… committed ventures, shall we say? But, you know, if you don’t feel ready yet, you can stick with the errands.” As she talks, Ilse takes out a compact mirror and runs a hand through her already perfectly-styled hair. She doesn’t look at Cass once.

“What my friends are getting to,” Breccia says, “is that we’ve got a job. A job that will pay damn well.”

Cass sits up and leans forward over the table. “I haven’t seen a cred of that boundless income you promised me when I signed up in the first place,” they complain. “How am I supposed to trust you guys now?”

“Cassander,” Breccia continues. Ey sighs and shakes eir head. “I know you were royalty—”

“ _ —Am _ royalty, thank you very much,” Cass interrupts.

“You are royalty, yes, but there are certain expenses to take off. Trusts to build. Surely someone from an empire understands this, right? There are always people looking to tear down what your family spent so long building up.”

Cass leans back in their chair and picks up their coffee. They stir it slowly, not looking up at any of the Epitome around them. Two could play at the ‘you’re not important enough for my attention’ game, after all. “I suppose I understand,” they admit eventually. “So what’s this job, anyway?”

Breccia grins. “We can’t talk about it here, but trust me,  _ big _ creds involved. Come to dinner tonight at the Degauss, we’ve got a private booth there. You can bring your date, if you’re in.”

“I’m in,” Cass promises.

* * *

 

They get back to their hotel room and it smells really good, actually, like warm food and waves crashing on the shore.

AuDy is standing in front of the microwave with a bowl in their hands. There are black smears on their arms and torso and Cass is certain that they’re injured before they smell the air again and realize that it’s just ink sauce.

“You made squid-ink pasta?”

AuDy nods. “This recipe seemed the most likely to create something like what you’ve described to me with the tools that we have. You should tell me if it worked.”

Cass sits down on the floor. The air is thicker somehow, and they’re choking up on it, and blinking quickly and probably glowing a little bit. Those are all definitely because the air is weird, and not because the Epitome sucked and they’ve missed AuDy and AuDy has made them  _ pasta _ in a  _ hotel room _ somehow.

AuDy sets the dish on a side table and kneels at Cass’s side. They reach out and set their hand on Cass’s shoulder. Squid ink will definitely stain this vest, but Cass hates these clothes anyway so it’s no real loss. “I am sorry,” AuDy says. “I thought after a meeting you would enjoy real food. And Aria told me that when she’s stressed she bakes, and it helps her to feel better.”

“You were stressed?” Cass asks. They scrub at their face with one hand. It’s bad for their scales and they know it, but they refuse to let themself cry right now.

“I could not protect you from the Epitome when I was not there. If something had happened I would not have known until you did not come home.” AuDy reaches up, cups Cass’s hand over their face. Cass twists their hand until they can grab AuDy’s. “I do not want you to get hurt,” AuDy continues. They pull Cass’s hand towards them slowly, allowing Cass plenty of time to pull away if they want.

They don’t want. They don’t think they’ll ever want to pull away from AuDy.

AuDy presses Cass’s hand to their face, as if they were cupping AuDy’s cheek. “I care about you, Cass.” They’re speaking so quietly, Cass can hardly hear. With their other hand, they reach over to put two fingers against the corner of Cass’s mouth.

The metal of their fingers is cool and solid and real, more real than anything else in this mission, and—the mission.

Cass has to remember the mission.

And it’s too much all at once. AuDy is kinder than Cass ever deserves and they’re only doing it for the stupid mission and Cass can’t stay here knowing that they care about Cass but not in the way Cass cares about them.

It’s been years since Cass cried.

They cry now, quiet shaking breaths and tears dripping down their face. “I—I’m sorry, I need a minute,” they manage to say. “It’s just—It’s been a long mission.”

AuDy is still. “Right,” they say. “The mission.” They move away from Cass and stand up, but Cass can’t bring themself to follow. While they sit on the floor, AuDy begins to clean up themself and the rest of the mess that they made cooking.

“We’ve got a meeting tonight,” Cass calls after AuDy. “I think—” they breathe slowly, trying to get their voice back under control, “—I think that we’re finally going to get our proof against the Epitome. Then we can go home.”

“Home is good,” says AuDy, and they don’t turn to look at Cass while they finish cleaning up.

Cass leans against the hotel wall and picks at the stupid expensive carpet with their fingers. Neither of them say anything else for a long time.

But they have to get ready for that night’s dinner at some point. If they don’t get the information now, who knows when the Epitome will trust them again? And… Cass isn’t sure they can handle much more ‘pretending.’

They drag themself up off of the floor with just enough time to change into something that doesn't have squid ink handprints on it, and they know they they shouldn’t but they pick something that they actually like. It’s a long tunic in deep indigo, embellished with pearlescent threads in swooping, curling designs. The base of it reminds Cass of waves just beginning to crest on a reef. There are white dress pants to match, and a pair of tall silver heels.

AuDy has a matching set of gloves and a waistcoat, and it should look ridiculous but it really, really doesn’t.

Cass and AuDy get ready in silence, and they’re almost ready to go when Cass remembers that they left their hair in its casual lunch plait. It’s likely that no one will care about the intricacies of Apostolosian hairstyles, but…

They can’t risk someone blowing their cover this late in the game for such a small thing.

The clock by the bed beeps accusingly at them, and Cass knows that they don’t have enough time to do it themself.

“Hey, AuDy…” they begin, and when AuDy turns from their position by the door to look at them Cass almost loses their nerve.  _ It’s for the mission _ , they remind themself. “Can you braid my hair?” they ask. “You’ve seen me do the fancy dinner buns before, right?”

AuDy nods. “I know the correct hairstyle for this event. But I have never braided before, so you need to tell me if I pull too sharply.” They move over to the desk and stand behind its chair for a moment before Cass realizes that they want Cass to sit down.

They take the proffered seat and are about to open the drawer with their beads and pins in it when AuDy does it before them.

That’s right, AuDy has set out their jewelry for them in the morning. They know which drawer it’s in. It only makes sense that on an extended mission like this that partners would know where each other’s stuff was, but… Cass is going to get used to this closeness if it keeps going for much longer.

They’re already more used to it than they should be.

Cass is comfortable with AuDy near, is at home with knowing where the tools they have to repair themself with are and knowing that they know where Cass’s supplies are. They want to stay this close, and they really, really shouldn’t.

“I am going to take out your current braid,” AuDy tells them, and Cass hums in agreement.

Despite their warning about pulling hair, AuDy is almost unbearably gentle with Cass as they gently remove the hair tie keeping their braid up and the simple metal beads weighing it down. Before beginning to restyle Cass’s hair, they take a few moments to run a brush through their hair.

Cass closes their eyes and resists the urge to tip their head back into AuDy’s hands.

AuDy does their hair quickly, which. That’s what they should do. They have to get to this mission, missing this dinner would be bad, being late would be rude, but… Cass can’t help but wish AuDy could take their time deftly weaving their hair into small braids and pinning them up into intricate buns.

They’re good at it, especially for never having done anyone’s hair before.

It’s not until they’re finished and Cass opens their eyes that they realize that AuDy wove the jewelry they bought Cass into the style.

They can’t help but reach out behind them.

AuDy takes their hand in return.

Cass clears their throat. “After this mission,” they murmur. “We should talk.”

“After the mission,” AuDy agrees, and they squeeze Cass’s hand.

* * *

 

The restaurant is probably really nice, but Cass doesn’t notice a thing about it.

Their dinner with the Epitome is going well. Everyone is edging on tipsy and the plates of shared appetizers are almost completely gone. No one’s received their meal yet, but the alcohol and fried sunchoke are enough to keep the group happy.

AuDy is drumming a low rhythm on the table and fiddling with their unused silverware until Cass picks up their hand.

“Don’t mind AuDy, they can be such a fidgeter,” they say, a little louder than probably is polite. That’s fine, the Cassander they’re pretending to be for this mission has never been polite in their life. The rest of the Epitome laugh and nod it off, and Cass fakes a giggle to join with them before leaning over and whispering to AuDy. “I know, I know, it sucks. But we can’t let them know how important this is for any reason besides ‘we want their cred.’”

AuDy sighs with their familiar staticky crackle. “You are right.” They still, for the most part. Enough that the people around them won’t be suspicious.

No one brings up any plans, illegal scams or otherwise, until the meals are there and everyone’s had a chance to dig in. Cass hardly picks at their food, too impatient to get to the culmination of the dinner to be hungry.

It’s AuDy’s turn to squeeze their hand and lean over, to act like they’re whispering sweet nothings. “They will be suspicious if you do not eat. The staff at the Degauss are not connected to the Epitome, so the food should be fine.”

Cass kind of wants to kick themself for not thinking of the possible danger there. The Epitome shouldn’t have any worries about them, but a mild emetic is exactly the sort of dramatic bullshit they’d do to ‘haze’ new members. “Thanks, AuDy,” they respond, and lean over to kiss their cheek.

The table coos over the happy couple, and no one suspects a thing.

Cass is partway through their shellfish and samphire—which is surprisingly good, either they’ve got a really good transport system or there’s a saltwater lake nearby that Cass missed on the map of the area—when Breccia stands up and taps on the side of eir champagne glass with a spoon.

“Alright, I know we’re all waiting to hear why we’ve got the whole gang together tonight.” Ey smiles, slick and smooth. “We have a new business opportunity.”

Ey goes into details on the plan. After all this, it’s basically just a two-bit conman’s scheme. They lie to people down on their luck, get them to invest big money in plans to help them and their community (plans that will never come to fruition), and use the Mesh to ensure that they can get to people who live far away. Everyone in the Epitome will get boatloads of credits, and they’ll never be traced back to their home base. Cass is almost insulted by how simple it is.

“They made us wait that long for this?” they mutter to AuDy.

Between the bugs Mako gave them and AuDy’s machine memory, they have more than enough information on Breccia and the rest of the Epitome to give to their contact. It’s so easy, and Cass wants it to keep being this easy but also doesn’t want it to end.

That’s a lie, they can’t wait to have their room on the Kingdom Come back and be able to wear their own clothes again.

They don’t want this thing with AuDy to end.

Cass had said they needed to talk to AuDy tonight, and they aren’t going to chicken out. No matter how tempting it is to flee their own feelings.

Cass is wrapped up enough in their own head that they and AuDy are walking out before they even realize it. They only come back to reality when AuDy stops with a jolt. Cass looks up, and Sokrates is standing in front of them, beaming.

“Cass!” They reach out to pat Cass on the shoulder and shake their head. “How’ve you been? It’s been too long.”

“Yeah,” Cass says, wary. “It’s been a while.”

Sokrates’ grin dims a few notches. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be pushy. I’m just excited to see my little sibling! And,” they put their hands on their hips, “wondering why I had to hear about their new  _ pallakída  _ from Lazer Ted’s Snapchat story, of all places!”

“You follow Lazer Ted on Snapchat?” Cass’s mouth says while their brain processes the rest of that statement.

They can’t deny that they and AuDy are together, there are too many members of the Epitome within hearing range. (They don’t want to deny it.)

AuDy takes up the thread of the conversation when Cass doesn’t, nodding once. “Cass and I are partners.  _ Pallakída  _ is an antiquated term.”

Sokrates claps. “You know Apostolosian!”

_ “Not very well,”  _ AuDy says, and the accent sounds like an automatic translator but the words are correct and Cass desperately wants an excuse to kiss them.

_ “Anyone willing to learn the syntax of a language that used to be engraved on branches of coral is a worthy partner for Cass,”  _ Sokrates declares.

AuDy tips their head to one side.  _ “Coral?” _ they repeat.

Sokrates laughs and switches back to Common. “Yeah, so the story goes. Wood doesn’t exactly hold up in saltwater and stone was too difficult to write on, so they used to use coral!”

Cass gets their head back on top of their shoulders in time to interject. “AuDy doesn’t want to hear a history lesson right now, we should get home.” They shouldn’t brush off Sokrates so quickly, but in their defense, it’s been a long day.

“That’s fair,” Sokrates answers. “I should get going too.”

As Audy and Cass begin to move past them, they put their hand on Cass’s arm. “Hey,” Sokrates says. “Don’t be a stranger, okay?”

Cass just nods.

They catch a cab back to their hotel, and the ride seems to take longer than it ever has before. AuDy and Cass don’t let of each other’s hand the entire time, long past the time it would be necessary to do so to keep up the illusion.

Their hotel room is lit more strongly than usual, the planet’s three moons all full at once and coloring the room pale blues and silvers.

“I would like to take down your hair,” AuDy tells Cass.

Cass is blushing, glowing soft purple. “You don’t have to.”

“I want to,” AuDy responds, and that’s it for Cass.

They tug AuDy into a tight hug, on their tiptoes to get their arms up over roughly where AuDy’s shoulders are. “I want you to,” they admit. AuDy’s arms come up around them and they’re holding Cass close, so close, and they lift Cass off their feet for a moment.

Cass laughs genuinely for the first time all evening, and does their best to hold AuDy even tighter.

AuDy sets them down carefully and leans over to press their forehead to Cass’s. They bring their hands up, cup Cass’s face and stroke over their scales. “I do not want to pretend anymore. Pretending is bullshit.”

Cass laughs even louder, enough that there are tears forming at the corners of their eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I can’t disagree with you there.” They tip their head up, kiss AuDy’s cheek. “Can you feel that?”

“No,” AuDy says. “But you should still do it again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that's all, folks!!! thanks again to citadelofswords for the invaluable last-minute beta, and I hope you all enjoyed the ride! I know I enjoyed writing it. hmu on twitter @wendymakespuns or tumblr @wendy-comet for more fish/robot love and possible outtake fic ideas. you never know! :D :3

**Author's Note:**

> chapter two coming soon!! let me know if you liked it :D


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